


17 The Circus

by merryghoul



Category: 18th Century CE RPF, Artists RPF, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-03
Updated: 2014-11-03
Packaged: 2018-02-23 23:43:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2560133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merryghoul/pseuds/merryghoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor, traveling alone, finds himself in 1760 Bath, recovering from an injury.  He's not alone while he's recovering.</p>
            </blockquote>





	17 The Circus

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ginger_timelady](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginger_timelady/gifts).



The fast return switch on the TARDIS was stuck again.  The last time the button on the TARDIS was stuck, the Doctor was trying to get Ian and Barbara back to Coal Hill School.  (Needless to say, he failed at getting Ian and Barbara back to their time for a while.)

The Doctor did everything he could to try to lift the button.  But he couldn't pull the spring that helped the button to move. 

From experience, the Doctor knew the TARDIS would crash land somewhere on Earth before it could fly into the sun.  It would only be a matter of moments until the Doctor would find himself thrown against one of the walls of the console room.

 

A motorcycle equipped with a time hopper is an unusual sight for 1888 Paris.  Because of this and Ace's need to be able to sense whenever something's gone wrong in time, Ace's time hopping-motorcycle resides in her residence.

Ace was preparing to get breakfast in her residence when the time hopper's alarm went off.  She checked the time hopper.  _TARDIS has crash landed in Bath, 1760,_ the time hopper read.

Ace blinked.  "TARDIS?  Professor?"

Ace changed out of her dress, put on her jeans and motorcycle jacket, and headed for Bath.

 

Nothing could shock the residents of Bath in 1760.  They were used to the wealthy moving in from all across England to settle near the supposedly medicinal waters of the city.  They were used to the ongoing building surrounding the King's Circus.  They were even used to the Bath Stone that made up the stone buildings, let alone the King's Circus, in the newer Georgian-style buildings. 

What the residents _weren't_ used to was a spaceship, stuck in the form of a rectangular police box that wouldn't exist for over 160 years in the future, crash-landing in the circular grounds in front of the King's Circus.

The TARDIS landed in front of 17 The Circus.  The owner of 17 The Circus heard the TARDIS crashing near his property.  After viewing the spaceship wedged in front of a tree, he ran down the stairs of his home and out of his house to the tree the TARDIS fell to. 

The owner slowed down as he approached the TARDIS.  He wasn't familiar with the ship's shape, for one, and the TARDIS was smoking.  The door to the TARDIS, to his surprise, wasn't hot.  He pushed the door open.  Sensing there was a more spacious room on the inside of the TARDIS, he walked inside.

The owner saw the Doctor lying on the floor of the TARDIS's console room.  He noticed the Doctor wasn't conscious.  He ran over to the Doctor and attempted to lift him up by his shoulders.

The voice of a woman cried out behind him:  "He's not a human."

The owner turned around to see the woman bringing in a two-wheeled contraption that originally came from further into the future.  He laid the Doctor down.  "Excuse me, miss, do you know this man?"

"He's a friend."

"But you said your friend wasn't human."

"He's an alien.  And you're killing him!"

"How am I killing him?"

"You can't pick him up by his shoulders.  It'll damage his nerve cluster.  You could paralyze him."

"Nerve cluster?"

"Let me pick him up."

The woman picked up the Doctor by his waist.  "Here, help me pick him up."

The owner helped the woman pick up the Doctor.

"This…box of your friend's crashed outside my residence.  If it's okay with you, I would like to place your friend in one of my spare beds.  I'm Thomas Gainsborough, by the way."

"Yeah, that bed of yours'll work.  I'm Dorothée.  Dorothée McShane.  I need to do one more thing before we take him to your residence."

"What's that?"

Ace reached into the Doctor's pockets and pulled out the key to the TARDIS.  "We need to lock his spaceship." 

Ace and Thomas took the Doctor out of the TARDIS and onto the space in the middle of the Circus.  Ace locked the TARDIS, and the two took the Doctor into 17 The Circus.

 

"Your friend looks like he's dead." Thomas looked at the Doctor lying in bed. 

"He's not dead," Ace said.  "He's in a coma."

"Are you sure?"

"It takes a lot to kill a Time Lord."

"Time Lord?"

"That's what type of alien the Doctor is.  They look human, but their bodies are different than our bodies."

"So you're a human."

Ace nodded.

"Where did you get that two-wheeled contraption from?"

"It's from the future," Ace whispered.  "My friend and I travel through time.  Don't tell anyone."  She shushed Thomas. 

"Understood.  But back to the unfortunate state of your friend.  What do we do?"

"We have to wait until he gets out of his coma."

"How long will your friend be in this state?"

"I don't know."

"I'm asking because I had plans to open up my studio today.  I have appointments to paint quite a few people today, and I'm afraid I'll have to cancel them all.  I wouldn't want to disturb your friend.  And I'd like to go out in the countryside on a day like this, but landscapes don't sell well, and I don't want to leave you here alone with your friend."

 "You could paint me.  You'd still have an appointment even if you had to cancel today's appointments."

"I _could_ paint you, but I can't paint you wearing that…is that cow hide covered in patches?  I've never seen something painted in such an unnatural colour in my life."

"Do you have a dress I could wear?  I don't hate dresses.  I choose not to wear them on official business."

"You look like you'd be about my wife's size.  I don't think she would mind if I went through her wardrobe and picked you out something to wear."

 

It took four hours for Thomas to paint Ace.  It took one hour for Thomas to find and help dress Ace into one of the dresses at 17 The Circus while the other three hours were devoted to actually painting Ace in her dress.

The first thing Ace said when she saw her portrait was "Ace!"

"Miss McShane, forgive me for asking, but what is this 'Ace' you speak of?"

"It's from the future," she said. 

"We should check on your friend.  I would like to not have him dead in my house.  The last place I want to be is in prison for murdering an alien that looks like a human."

Thomas and Ace went back to the bedroom where they had placed the Doctor in.  Thomas opened the door.  The Doctor was still on the bed.  He wasn't moving. 

Thomas closed the door.  "Do you need a place to spend the night?" he said to Ace.  "I have another spare bedroom."

The door to the bedroom didn't close all the way; it was held open by the tip of a shoe.  The door opened.  "Pardon me, but how long have I been in this room?"

"All day, Professor.  I think."  Ace hugged the Doctor.

"Ace, I'd never thought I'd see you again.  We did part on less than friendly terms."

"Ace?" Thomas asked?

"Ace.  That's her nickname.  She never told you that?"

"No.  She said her name was Dorothée."

"I use Dorothée in polite company.  But I do go by Ace."

Thomas nodded.  "Oh."

"I could never hate you forever, Professor.  And I'd be devastated if you died today."

The Doctor blew a raspberry.  "Dead?  I'm as right as rain now.  How could I die?"

"I got an alert this morning from Paris to find you here.  The TARDIS crashed in front of the Circus."

"The circus?  No, you mean _The_ Circus.  Right."

"I believe you were thrashed around in your vessel and suffered a blow to your head," Thomas said.

"I don't believe I've met you before."  The Doctor extended his hand to Thomas.  "You must be Thomas Gainsborough.  They've written books about you and displayed your works around England in the future.  That's how I know about you."

"The both of you make the future seem extremely intimidating."

The Doctor laughed.  "Trust me; it's not as intimidating as you think.  I've seen a lot worse than this.  I’m the Doctor, by the way."

"But Miss McShane referred to you as 'Professor.'"

"That's just her nickname for me."

"I'm astonished that you two don't get confused with each other."

"If you're confused by the two of us, then you should meet all my other friends."

"I'll have to decline your invitation."

"I'm not surprised that you've declined the invitation.  Now, Thomas, is there a coffee house nearby?"

"There should be one within walking distance from my home.  Go out my door and take a right until you reach the end of the sidewalk.  Then turn right."

"Thank you, Thomas.  If you don't mind, I'd like to take my friend out for high tea.  I'm sure she's hungry after looking over me all day."

Ace nodded.

"I don't mind at all.  But when the both of you leave, don't forget your portrait."

"We won't, Mister Gainsborough." 

 

After tea, the Doctor and Ace, now back in her jacket and jeans, went back to the TARDIS to fix the fast return button.  It was Ace who was able to open up the part of the console that was affected and fix the button.  "The spring dislodged in the button," Ace said after she was done fixing the console.  "It should work again." 

"Let's try it out, Ace.  If this works, we should be back in Bath in no time flat.  If it doesn’t…let's hope we don't end up in some hostile time and place when the TARDIS lands again."

The TARDIS materialized from the ground in front of The Circus.  It reappeared shortly after it materialized.  The fast return button was working.

"Let's collect that portrait of yours and say goodbye to Thomas."

 

After Ace and the Doctor said their goodbyes to Thomas, the Doctor took her back to her residence in Paris.  The Doctor brought out her portrait while Ace wheeled her motorcycle into her home.

The Doctor looked at Thomas' portrait of Ace.  "I've always liked Gainsborough's work.  He's a proper painter.   Van Gogh and Picasso could stand to learn a lot from Gainsborough.  So, do you have any plans for your portrait?"

"I have some ideas, Professor."

"Have you found someone that's kinda like me yet?"

"Not yet, Professor.  Still searching."

"You keep looking for him.  I know he's out there."  The Doctor winked. 

Ace pushed down the kickstand on the bike before walking to the Doctor.  "Professor, I wouldn't mind if you visited every once in a while.  You shouldn't be able to miss me.  I'll be right here, fighting for the people who need my help."

The Doctor nodded.  "I taught you well, Ace."

"And I know you're traveling alone right now."

"I don’t mind traveling alone.  I haven't done it in a while."

"Don't travel alone too much.  You're not the lonely type."

"I will, Ace."

Ace hugged the Doctor one last time.  "Goodbye, Professor.  Again."

"Goodbye, Ace."

The Doctor went back into his TARDIS and left Ace's residence.

 

Ace's residence was found abandoned in the early 1900s.  The portrait, which would be later known as _Portrait of an unknown woman,_ was found and verified by art collectors to be a Gainsborough original.  The portrait found its way passing through various private collections in England from 1905 to 1988, when it was last seen in Windsor Castle.

As Ace and the Doctor were going down a staircase in the castle, the two passed _Portrait of an unknown woman._   Ace stopped at the portrait.  "Professor, that's me."

The Doctor also stopped to admire the painting.  "What? Gosh, so it is. My goodness, what a good likeness."

"How come I ended up here?"

"Well, it hasn't happened yet."

"But it's two hundred years ago."

"I know. We haven't done it. That's why you don't remember it."

"It doesn't make sense."

"Well, it did to Louis Armstrong, but then he really understood time."

But before they could ponder why a painting of Ace done by Gainsborough was hanging in Windsor Castle, the two had to flee the painting, never to speak of it again.  That was, until the painting happened in their future, but back in the distant past.

**Author's Note:**

> The "Silver Nemesis" quotes come from [the version found on Chrissie's Transcripts Site.](http://www.chakoteya.net/doctorwho/25-3.htm) Kevin Clarke wrote the script for this serial; I don't own the rights to what I quoted in this fic.


End file.
